Ruin One Thing
by FallAway
Summary: Takes place after the season six finale, completely AU. Rory is expected to fix everything, but it’s just not that simple anymore. LoganRory, JessRory, LukeLorelai.
1. Prologue

Summary: Takes place after the season six finale, arguably AU. Rory is expected to fix everything, but it's just not that simple anymore. LoganRory, JessRory, LukeLorelai.

Disclaimer: I so do not own these characters. Wanna buy them for me?

A/N: I've wanted to write this since the season six finale aired, I just never got the inspiration. Then, finally, last night I had a burst of emo-ness and I just started typing. This is what the product of that random burst was – and I'm hoping that all of the plans I have for this fic are going to work out. Of course, if I don't get any reviews then I'm just not going to bother continuing this.

---

She spent the first few days after his departure in bed or wandering around the apartment, stuffing her face with ice cream and avoiding her mother's calls in favor of moping. Consequently, she missed the huge explosion in her mother's love life, and the action-reaction equation was lost on her. Her own life was affected by that one fucking mistake, and she was completely oblivious to the entire thing. When she finally checked her voicemail – in the middle of the night, three days after Logan left – she was blown away by the amount of tears in every message.

There were four total.

Three were from her mother, the other was a mumbled confession from her father and she dropped the phone in horror halfway through that last message. Christopher and Lorelai were always wrecking things for each other; that much Rory knew. When the two of them got together there were fireworks. The unfortunate side effect was that the flames always got caught in a tree, or a bush, or they landed on some poor unsuspecting spectator and everything started to smoke before it finally blew up in a mass of color and heat and pain.

One in the morning and she was in her car, driving to Stars Hollow to find out the rest of the details and see what could be salvaged from the storm. She had a feeling it wasn't much, if anything, but she had to try. Fixing it – that was what she was expected to do, and she never once forgot that responsibility.

The added bonus of forgetting her own heartache in favor of focusing on her mother's was something she was refusing to think about. She wasn't that selfish; she wouldn't use her best friend's pain to lessen her own.

Finding Lorelai Gilmore, the strongest person she had ever known, crumpled in a ball on the couch crying her eyes out over some random soap opera was _not_ what she was prepared for, though. And after that all thoughts of Logan flew out the window.

--

The diner was open, and Rory wasn't sure whether she should be pissed or relieved. The bell above the door dinged quietly when she walked into the establishment and she inwardly cringed at the familiarity of the place. Luke was behind the counter, methodically wiping its surface, eyes unfocused and shirt slightly more rumpled than usual. Rory frowned and took a seat on a stool at the counter, waiting patiently for him to notice her.

He never did.

"Luke," she said quietly, waving her hand in front of his face. He jumped to attention and looked up at her frantically, deer-in-the-headlights face in full effect. Rory offered him a tiny smile and he sighed heavily, greeting her with a slightly desperate air.

"Coffee?" he wondered, turning and holding an empty pot up in the air. She raised an eyebrow and Luke furrowed his brow, glancing at the pot to see what the problem was. Rolling his eyes, he set it back on the counter and ran a hand through his hair, letting his baseball cap clench between his fingertips.

Her fingers tapped out an irregular rhythm on the counter and she nodded her head awkwardly. This was the part she wasn't looking forward to. "So did she tell you everything?"

When he froze, she wasn't surprised, and she continued speaking in earnest. "Because if she did then I can imagine the explosion that took place after the confession. I almost broke my cell phone when my dad called to tell me his side of the story," she nodded again and watched as her almost-step-father's eyes flamed at the mention of Christopher.

"Yeah, she told me everything," he agreed. Various customers had stopped their conversations to listen and Rory rolled her eyes, turning to snap at them at the same time Luke did. After they had all resumed normal diner activity she turned back to him and shrugged sheepishly.

"I wish there was something I could do…"

"No," he shook his head, "No, Rory, this isn't your fault," he promised. "Your mom and I … we'll work it out," he nodded decisively, though his tone made it sound like he was trying to convince himself more than her. She frowned but nodded her agreement, tucking her hair behind her ears as she looked down at the counter.

"Have you-" she took a deep breath "-have you called anyone?"

"Like?"

"I don't know," she shrugged and smiled a little. "Someone that you can talk to? I feel like you're dealing with this all by yourself." Luke shrugged and smirked softly, leaning down toward her.

"Don't worry about me," he said softly. "I'll be fine."

"Right," she nodded, "Right. Of course you will, you're," she gestured toward him, nodding absently, "Luke! You'll be fine," she laughed shakily around the lump in her throat, swallowing it back when he nodded his agreement and walked away to serve his customers.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and left before he could yell at her for using it inside, flipping through her phone book until she reached her second most recently-added contact. Holding her phone open and staring at the number that was displayed on her screen for a solid five minutes, she finally took a deep breath and connected the call as she started walking back toward the Gilmore home.

--

"Marco!" Rory hollered, setting her purse down absently as she walked into the living room. Paul Anka whined and ran out of the room, skittering down the hallway into the kitchen. She frowned and shook her head, jogging up the stairs in pursuit of her mother.

Lorelai was asleep, immersed in a mess of blankets when Rory reached the bedroom, and she sighed quietly as she shut the door and went back downstairs. Flopping back onto the couch, she sighed heavily and closed her eyes, determined to forget the drama long enough to take a nap.

Apparently the universe had other plans for her, though. Her phone rang almost as soon as she started to drift off, and she all but lunged at the coffee table to retrieve the phone from her purse and answer it.

She smiled when she recognized the number and flipped the phone open, belting out a falsely-cheerful hello. Blurry noise returned her greeting and she frowned, pulling the phone back to check the service. The tiny little screen informed her that the call hadn't been dropped and that she had as many bars as possible, so she pressed the phone back to her ear and said hello again, hoping for an actual response this time.

"Ace?" Logan's voice crackled through the receiver and she smiled again, nodding her head redundantly as she replied in the affirmative. He laughed lightly and she curled up at the end of the couch, tucking her feet comfortably beneath her. "Hey, I tried calling the apartment earlier and you weren't there."

"Yeah, I'm in Stars Hollow," she said. "There's all this stuff going on with my mom and Luke and my dad, so…"

"Rory? You there?"

"Yes, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," he paused and she frowned when the background noise increased. She could make out various voices and the sound of some fast-paced techno song, and she furrowed her brow when he asked her – yet again – if she was there. He cut her off before she could reply, "Look, I'm gonna have to call you back, I can't really hear anything in here, but we'll talk soon, okay?"

"Sure," she agreed. "I love you," she bit her lip and sighed quietly.

"Love you too, Ace."

The call disconnected and she snapped her phone shut before dropping it on the floor. With one last glance toward the stairs to make sure Lorelai wasn't awake, she snuggled further into the couch and let her eyes fall shut.

--

Planes crashing, fire, explosions in a chemistry lab, and finally a random, faceless girl giving her boyfriend a lap dance. Rory woke with a start, breathing heavily and nearly choking on the tears she'd been shedding in her sleep, disoriented from her fall from the couch. Gasping to catch her breath, she pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head to clear the images of her nightmare.

"Sweets, you okay?" Lorelai questioned, concerned. Rory looked up to find her mother standing at the bottom of the stairs, chaotic and messy and still as beautiful as always. She nodded weakly and pushed herself to a standing position, working out the crick in her neck as she stretched. Lorelai nodded in turn and then smiled brightly, prompting her daughter to raise a curious and extremely confused eyebrow.

Rory stared blankly at the smile on Lorelai's face before shaking her head in amusement. "You finally came up with the cure to world hunger, didn't you?"

"Yes; eat all of the evil children," Lorelai agreed. "It will solve hunger and the population growth issue. Win-win," she nodded. Rory smiled softly and Lorelai sighed heavily, shaking her head and clearing the smirk from her face. "Have you talked to your dad?"

"No," Rory replied automatically. She followed as her mother wandered into the kitchen, and she sat down at the table dejectedly. "I did go see Luke, though."

The coffee pot crashed onto the counter and Rory jumped, startled. Turning her attention to Lorelai she found her mother with glazed eyes, tears pooling in the corners, hands on the counter as she tried to control her breathing. She figured it was probably a miracle that the coffee pot didn't shatter from the impact.

--

Luke didn't bother to look up as he continued to stack the chairs on the tables when he heard the bell above the door ring. He sighed and shook his head, robotically continuing his task. "We're-"

"-closed, I know," the person replied. Luke's eyes widened and he turned, stunned at who he saw standing in the entryway to the diner. He shook his head slowly and then laughed, nodding as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Lemme guess," he said, "You wanna come back."

Jess rolled his eyes and dropped his bag on the floor, shrugging his shoulders as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, what can I say, Uncle Luke, this town is just so dang charming."

"And the smartass lives," Luke sighed and threw his hands in the air, feigning exasperation as Jess smirked at him. Luke nodded and walked closer to his nephew, pulling him into a hug and patting his back affectionately. "Good to see you," he nodded and pulled back, turning around to continue cleaning.

"Yeah, you too," Jess agreed. He stood awkwardly near the door, unsure of what he should be doing. Finally he picked up a spare rag off the counter and started wiping down the tables Luke hadn't gotten to yet.

Neither said a word for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 1: Not Here for Her

Disclaimer: Still no.

A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing this. I have to admit that this is going to be slightly experimental on my part, because there are certain portions of this that I am writing way before they actually take place in the story. My muse is being very odd with the events of this, so we'll just have to see what happens.

---

Rory held her phone firmly to her ear, moving swiftly through the town square in pursuit of coffee before her mother woke up to find the house empty and the coffee pot in the same condition. She sighed when she reached an automated voicemail message, and her phone snapped shut with a resounding click as she walked into Doose's.

She did her best to ignore Taylor's excited ramblings as she wandered through the shelves from memory, making a mental check list of foods she would need to purchase that afternoon. At the moment she only had time for one thing, and that thing was a new bag of coffee.

Lorelai kept waking up early, and the earlier she woke up the earlier Rory had to open her eyes and face the day. For the past two days they had immersed themselves in ice cream, popcorn, stale licorice, semi-flat cherry-vanilla Dr. Pepper, and movies from the eras they wished they had been born into.

Currently the Breakfast Club was idling in the VCR, and Rory sighed when she stopped in the correct aisle to find that the store's weekly food shipment hadn't come in yet. The shelves were totally bare. Rolling her eyes, she wandered back to the front of the market and stopped in front of Taylor, impatiently crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

He arched an eyebrow and she sighed again. "Is there coffee in the back?"

"Well, no, we ran out just this morning," he was flustered and she was annoyed, and this was not something she had time for. "But if you'll wait just a few hours, Earl should be delivering-"

"Thank you," she cut him off and left the store, letting the door bang shut in her haste. She stood in front of the market and stared across the town square at the diner, torn between going home without coffee and taking the opportunity to check on Luke in her mission.

The last time she tried to call the apartment, all she got was the machine.

Rory nodded to herself and stepped off the sidewalk, quickening her pace as she got closer and closer to the familiar door. When she reached it she paused, still slightly torn, and when she realized what a pain her mother would be without coffee she flung the door open with a flourish and stepped inside to the ringing of the bell.

A few people glanced up from their breakfast to find out who the new customer was, and she rolled her eyes when everyone grew bored with her presence and returned to their food. She walked up to the counter and sat down on a stool, leaning her elbow on the counter as she waited for someone to appear.

The curtain behind the counter rustled and she sighed, relieved. Muffled voices came from behind the thin cloth and she rested her chin on her palm, tapping the fingers of her free hand against the counter.

"Yeah, I think I remember how to stack boxes," Jess scoffed as he walked out from behind the curtain and she froze. Luke followed after him, baseball cap in his hand as he ran the other through his hair, and Rory felt her heart rate increase when the younger of the two focused his attention on her.

He froze, she stopped breathing, and Luke looked between the two in confusion. Rory slowly lowered her hand, sitting up straighter on her stool, and she looked away from Jess as she smiled at Luke.

"I need coffee," she told him. Luke nodded gruffly and headed toward the pot, grabbing a paper cup from behind the counter. "Four cups," she amended. Luke tensed momentarily and then nodded again, adding three more cups to the mix as he pulled a drink carrier off of a shelf.

Jess leaned against the doorframe by the curtain, still staring at her, and she ignored him as she dropped some money on the counter and took the coffee from Luke, smiling at him once more as she turned and left the diner.

She hadn't expected him to actually come back.

--

Her key jiggled in the lock, once, twice, three times, and she attempted to balance the drink carrier in one hand while she unlocked the door with the other. The key refused to turn and she rolled her eyes, exasperated. When she adjusted her hand to try turning the key again the door burst open and she nearly fell, gripping the door frame to steady herself as drops of coffee sloshed out of the lids on the cups.

Lorelai cocked her head to the side, lowering the umbrella she was holding. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing you coffee so that you don't perish," Rory replied. "Why do you have an umbrella?"

"Don't you have a key?"

"Yes, but that does not explain the presence of the umbrella."

"I heard the doorknob jiggling and it woke me up, so I thought you were a robber," Lorelai replied matter-of-factly. Her daughter arched an eyebrow and Lorelai sighed, dropping the umbrella on the floor and turning around to walk back into the house. Rory followed after her and questioned her on the content of the dream, truly curious as to why a robber would be running rampant in the streets of Stars Hollow.

"Well, you know. Taylor punished some poor, well-meaning guitar player and in retaliation he went on a rampage through the town, breaking everything he could and stealing as many pretty, shiny things as possible."

Rory snickered and set the coffee on the table, dropping her keys next to them. "No more food after midnight."

"Am I a gremlin?"

"Can't be too careful," Rory sighed reverently, shaking her head. Lorelai grinned for a moment and then turned her attention to the coffee, her eyes glazing over slightly when she noticed the emblem on the cups.

"Doose's is out again, huh?"

"Every summer."

"You'd think Taylor would learn by now."

Rory shook her head, "He enjoys torturing us too much."

"Right," Lorelai agreed. Tentatively, she reached out and grabbed a cup, nodding to herself as she took a sip and headed for the living room. "What are we watching today?" she called over her shoulder. Rory stood in the kitchen, slightly confused as to what just happened.

Finally she shrugged and responded that she didn't care as she walked back through the hallway to join her mother on the couch.

--

Lorelai fell asleep halfway through their Molly Ringwald marathon and Rory tucked an afghan over her body, kissing her forehead lightly before grabbing her coat and leaving the house. Her cell phone was tucked safely in her pocket, the volume on high, and she was confident that Lorelai would reach her if some sort of tragedy happened between now and the time she got home.

Of course, she was still screening her calls and avoiding the ones from Christopher, but that was not the point. Her voicemail was overflowing with half-hearted apologies and she didn't want to listen to his excuses. They were always the same, ranging from the entire thing being a mistake to not wanting to hurt her to the idea that he was drunk when it happened and he didn't remember a thing.

She didn't believe any of his stories, but that didn't mean she wanted to listen to him lie through his teeth.

Taking the path she had grown accustomed to in the past week, she walked through the town at a leisurely pace, searching out a spot in the gazebo so she could sit and think. A few years ago she would have gone to the bridge to read, but it felt wrong to be there now and she didn't have a book with her anyway.

She kept her head down as she brushed past people on the streets. She wasn't in the mood to chat, to discuss how her mother was doing, and despite the fact that she knew the townies meant only the best, she didn't want them to know all of the details behind Luke and Lorelai's second break-up.

The rumors added enough fuel to the fire without a confirmed story floating around, too.

Rory let out a sigh when she walked up the stairs to the gazebo. Planting herself on a bench, she leaned back and folded her arms across her stomach, gazing blankly at passersby as she tried to figure out what it was she was supposed to be doing.

Helping her mother mope was all well and fine, but she wasn't going to avoid the topic of Luke forever. Christopher was going to continue calling until she told him she didn't want to speak to him, and even then he would leave messages begging for her forgiveness.

The thing he didn't understand was that she didn't want to forgive him. She was finally forming some sort of a normal life. Luke was going to marry her mother, Logan was going to come back from England, she was going to graduate college and they were going to get married after Luke walked her down the aisle, and Christopher would've been angry but he would've been there too.

She had a plan.

And now that plan was shot to hell, simply because her mother couldn't control her libido and no matter how hard they fought to ignore it, her parents had a connection that was too strong to break. It frustrated her to no end that they were always screwing each other over, and this time she wasn't sure she could pick up the pieces and put the puzzle back together.

Insurance wouldn't cover this crash and she was having a hard time divvying up the blame.

Slumping back against the bench, she sighed and closed her eyes, willing her mind to slow down and process what was going on. She hadn't slept more than twelve hours in the past two days, and whenever she closed her eyes she got images of Logan cheating on her while partying it up in London or of her mother living the rest of her life in the funk she was in right now.

It hurt, so eventually she just stopped trying to sleep.

Someone cleared their throat from a few feet away and she tensed, clenching her fingers in the material of her jeans when she realized who it was. Of course it was him; who else would have the courage to approach her when she was so lost in her own thoughts?

Rory slowly opened her eyes and raised her head, confirming her suspicion as Jess sat down on the bench opposite hers. Her fingers tightened against her jeans and clenched spastically against the muscles of her thighs. Somehow he always managed to put her on edge, and she wasn't sure if she hated him or loved him for it.

After their last encounter she was certain he would never speak to her again.

"So you came," she nodded, looking straight at him. He locked eyes with her and nodded slowly, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, well, you were fairly succinct," he replied. "Wasn't sure what was going on, figured I should make sure Luke wasn't dead."

"Figured I should get straight to the point," she said. "I didn't think you'd want to talk to me any longer than you had to."

"Well, an intelligent conversation with someone other than Matt would've been nice," he shrugged a little. "Of course, keeping you away from your boyfriend would've been an issue if we'd talked any longer than thirty seconds, right?"

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Bring Logan into this. I didn't ask you to come here for me, I asked you to come here for _Luke_."

Jess nodded and kicked his foot against the pavement. "He's not exactly the sharing kind of guy," he told her, glancing up at her again. Rory bit her tongue to keep from replying and simply nodded. "I'm sure he can handle this all by himself."

"Then why'd you come?"

"I was concerned."

"But if he can handle this himself, then why were you concerned?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. She leaned back against the bench again and he shrugged, mimicking her position.

"Didn't want him to die of broken heart disease."

"Well, you'd certainly have the anecdote for that," she said wryly. "And since when do you listen to the Wallflowers?"

Jess smirked, "One song, Ror. You can't criticize a guy for liking 'One Headlight' when you listened to it on repeat for weeks."

"Simply observing," she returned. "What about Truncheon?"

"What about it?"

"They just let you leave?"

"We've been hiring new guys for the past week and they can handle the place without me for a few weeks. They're intelligent enough to edit a few manuscripts without my help."

"And still as egotistical as always," she shook her head and stood, nodding as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Nice to know you haven't changed as much as I thought."

Rory turned and started walking down the stairs when she heard his footsteps behind her. He caught up with her when she stepped onto the sidewalk and she studiously ignored him, keeping her gaze on the ground as she sped up.

He didn't take the hint.

With a roll of her eyes she stopped walking and turned, annoyed. "What, Jess?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Just wondering how you managed to get your monkey off your back long enough to come back and help your mom out."

Suddenly she was pissed at him, and she hated the fact that he could still get under her skin so easily. "He's in London," she snapped, unaware of the ammo she was willingly giving him, and Jess' eyes widened but she was too angry to notice. "Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I have to get back home before my mother has a mental breakdown."

Storming off without waiting for a reply, she missed the way he smiled to himself before turning to go back to the diner. Jess continued to smirk as he walked through the door to the establishment, and various customers started whispering back and forth to each other when they saw him.

Good ol' Stars Hollow. They never did get bored of watching a fight.

--

Luke sighed and leaned against the counter, shaking his head as he observed his nephew. Jess ignored him, taking orders and handing them back to Caesar in the kitchen, and when he stepped behind the counter to wait for them to be filled Luke gave up and decided to comment.

"You and Rory had a fight, didn't you?"

"Nope," Jess shook his head. "Although I now know how she feels about me, so Logan's got nothing to worry about."

"Did you mock him?"

He shrugged, "Maybe a little. She's got no reason to be this pissed at me, though," he looked at his uncle tiredly. "I'm not here to get her back or anything as stupid as that."

Luke nodded. "Something happened in Philadelphia, didn't it?"

"I'm not here for you to fix my love-life, Luke. I'm here to help you fix yours," Jess sighed and grabbed a finished plate off the counter, walking around it to serve his customers. Luke's jaw dropped slightly and he shut his mouth with a clink a second later.

This wasn't the way this summer was supposed to be.

--

Rory flopped down on the couch dejectedly and answered her phone with a sigh, closing her eyes as she sank into the cushions. Lorelai was in the kitchen ordering takeout, distracted as she tried to decide between broccoli beef and orange chicken. The plastic of the cell phone dug into Rory's ear as she laid her head down on the end of the couch and she smiled when Logan returned her greeting.

"You sound stressed, everything okay?" he wondered.

She shook her head, "Yeah, it's fine. I think Mom is trying to distract herself so she doesn't have to deal, but …"

"It'll work out, Ace," he promised. "Have you guys managed to watch every cheesy eighties movie ever made?"

"No, but we're getting there. How's London?"

"Boring. The clubs are fairly interesting, but I've only managed to make it out of the house once in the past week. Dad's got a tight leash on all of his employees."

She frowned in confusion. For the past two days she'd heard techno music in the background when he'd called her, and it didn't settle well in her stomach to think that he was lying to her. Logan had lied before but he wouldn't dare do that now, not after she'd finally forgiven him for Honor's wedding. There was no way.

"I'm sure you'll fine something to do," she replied, though her frown remained in place. He chuckled on the other end of the line and she snuggled further into the couch.

"If not I can always distract myself with work, huh?"

"Exactly," she agreed. He laughed again and she relaxed a little, letting herself ignore the feeling in her stomach as he told her he loved her and promised to call her the next day. "Okay," she agreed. "I love you, too."

The line clicked and she hung up with a sigh.


	3. Chapter 2: It's On Me

Disclaimer: I still don't own them.

A/N: I would just like to point out that I _never_ said that Logan is actually lying to Rory. I said that Rory feels like he is, and while it may seem like those are the same thing, they aren't. Stick with me on this, you guys, I do know what I'm doing and I do have a plan.

On another note, thank you all so much for your reviews! When I started writing this I was extremely … well, worried is the wrong word, but I wasn't sure if this was going to get a good response. So far, it has, and I hope that your response remains good throughout this. I'll never know if you don't tell me, though, so leave me a review and give me your opinion. ;)

---

Logan scratched the back of his head and furrowed his brow, nodding slightly as he looked down at the notepad in his hand. He could barely read the few notes he'd taken and the man in front of him just kept on talking. Sighing, he picked up his pen again when there was a lull in the older man's speech and asked another question.

The German DJ grinned and responded enthusiastically, drawing his hands through the air dramatically. Logan nodded and smiled when he was able to understand the man, making more concise notes on the crowded paper. Maybe the day wouldn't be a total waste after all.

Half an hour later he shook the guy's hand and pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, dialing his girlfriend's number with ease as he left the club and made his way down the sidewalk toward his car. The line went automatically to her voicemail and he frowned, snapping the phone shut and dropping it back in his pocket.

It wasn't his fault that she never answered her phone. And the fact that she had it turned off made him nervous, but she'd sounded so exhausted and sad over the past few days that he didn't want to make it into a big deal.

Everything was fine.

--

Rory tilted her head back in an attempt to relieve the pain in her neck, rocking her head back and forth as she walked down the sidewalk. For the first time in two days she had managed to succumb to the seduction of sleep, but unfortunately she was on the couch when her eyelids fluttered shut. She slept dreamlessly for around four hours before the sound of the shower woke her up.

It had taken her a solid minute to figure out that no, she wasn't in the apartment and yes, Logan was still in London. The fact that her mother was up and moving around instead of moping on the couch gave her hope, though, and she'd opted for a walk to clear her senses after Lorelai came running downstairs in a towel, proclaiming that Michel was going to die for calling her at eight in the morning.

Rory had a feeling the Dragonfly customers were going to be dealing with serious mood swings all day. Abruptly, she stopped trying to rid herself of the crick in her neck and laughed at the thought. Lorelai Gilmore in all her glory, impatient as hell and still depressed over failed relationships that were supposed to work out. Rory laughed and the tension in her shoulders eased a little, allowing her to smile as she walked into the diner.

She didn't really care if Jess was back, she wanted her coffee and she wanted it now. Dealing with her ex-boyfriend was low on her to-do list, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She called him and he came to Stars Hollow, because despite what everyone else seemed to think, he actually did care.

Sometimes it felt like she was the only person who knew that side of him.

Rolling her eyes at her train of thought, she took a seat at a small table near the corner, smiling at Kirk as he stood to leave. He blinked at her, owl-like in the action, and then nodded unsurely before all but running out of the diner. She frowned and folded her hands on the table, inspecting the chips in her nail polish with more interest than she felt.

Her attention was so focused on the princess-pink paint that she didn't notice when he asked her for her order. Luke furrowed his brow in concern when she didn't respond to her name, and he sighed heavily.

"Rory," he repeated, loudly. She jumped, startled, and looked up at him with wide eyes. After a second she relaxed and smiled at him.

"Hi, Luke," she greeted cheerfully. "How's the coffee today?"

"Deadly as always," he returned. "Are you going to make me aid your heart failure?"

"Yes, please," she grinned. "And can I get pancakes? Ooh, and bacon," she nodded, biting at her bottom lip. His expression softened and he nodded, giving her a small smirk as he placed a mug on her table and filled it with coffee.

It was nice having her home. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to see her and her mother every morning, complaining about the early hour as they came up with new and inventive ways of begging him for coffee. Luke sighed to himself and walked away, idly brushing a hand over his head.

Things used to be simple, he knew. Most days it was impossible to remember those days, much less miss them. Now he was feeling nostalgic, though, and when he glanced over at Rory's table again it almost felt wrong not to see Lorelai there with her.

Shaking his head to clear it, he watched with interest as his nephew wandered out from behind the curtain, stopping dead at the site of his ex-girlfriend. Luke arched his eyebrows and Jess hesitated, much the same way that he did the first morning they were together. He was unsure and it was entertaining, but Luke wasn't eager to get into a fight over the matter so he remained silent in his observations.

Jess scratched the back of his head idly and nodded to himself, taking determined steps in the direction of Rory's table. She was drinking her coffee, obviously in deep thought about something, and he had to pause more than once in his mission to approach her.

But he was not a stupid high school kid anymore, and he refused to let a girl make him nervous.

Even if that girl was Rory.

The girl looked up from the table and forced an indifferent expression onto her face, focusing her attention on keeping her eyes the same way. He smirked a little and gestured to the chair opposite her, raising an eyebrow in question. Rory rolled her eyes.

"If you must," she sighed and set her coffee down, letting her chin fall onto her palm. She sounded tired, but less upset than she was yesterday. Jess sat down and leaned back in the chair, a smile in his eyes.

"So how goes project Save Lorelai?" he wondered. Her eyes narrowed and he grinned inwardly, glad that he could still affect her in some way.

"Fine," she replied coolly. "She's at the Dragonfly as we speak."

"Getting back to normal?"

"Yep."

"Well, that's just dandy. Has she said anything about our boy?" he nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen and smirked a little. Rory huffed indignantly – pissed off at him for being so smug – and his smirk widened.

Rory opened her mouth to respond when Luke approached her table, sliding a plate in front of her. "All the sugar and fat you could possibly want. When the heart attack kicks in I am not liable," he winked at her and she smiled, the anger fading.

"Thanks, Luke," she said softly. He nodded and turned to Jess, glaring at him in warning. The younger man raised his hands in surrender, leaning further back in the chair with an innocent expression. Luke nodded, satisfied, and left to serve another customer.

Jess' attention was diverted back to Rory and she ignored him with determination, eating her breakfast and keeping her eyes glued on the wall behind his head. He frowned slightly and leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table and locking his fingers together in front of him.

"You know, you _did _call me," he told her.

She swallowed, "I know."

"So being pissed at me for showing up doesn't really make any sense," he continued. "If you didn't want me here then you shouldn't have bothered to call." Rory dropped her fork and folded her arms in front of her chest, leaning back in her chair slightly.

"Luke needs you here," she said. "It probably doesn't seem like it since he's so stubborn, but he does. And while I would love to help him myself, I can't. My mom is a mess, this entire situation is," she explained. "I called you because you were the only person I could think of to call."

"What about Liz?"

"She's doing the fair circuit for the next two months, as you are well aware," she retorted. His eyes widened a little and she smirked softly. "Yeah, I know that you two keep in touch. She's mentioned it to me on more than one occasion."

"Glad to know you two are so friendly," he deadpanned. "So you called me instead," he nodded thoughtfully. "Are you sure you only brought me here for Luke? You're looking a little too agitated to be completely unaffected by me."

"I am agitated," she agreed. "Because you're just as frustrating as you always were."

Jess snickered bitterly, "God forbid I make you feel something other than pain."

She was silent for a moment, simply staring at him. He locked eyes with her and noticed the emotions flickering through those familiar pools of blue, everything from annoyance to exasperation to depression to something he couldn't quite identify. It was sort of a mix of everything she could possibly be feeling, but her eyes sparked and flamed and it gave him a little bit of hope.

He wasn't the only one that was trying to ignore the emotions she inspired in him.

"So that's it, then. No ulterior motives?"

"No," she shook her head and stood, pulling her wallet out and handing the money for her bill to him. "Give that to Luke for me, will you?" she requested. Before he could respond she was walking away, and when he called her name she stopped but didn't turn.

Jess rose from the chair and walked the few feet to her, pressing the money into her palm and leaning in to whisper in her ear. "It's on me." She closed her eyes tightly and squeezed the crisp paper in her palm, nodding slightly as she let out a breath and left.

The bell jingled above the door and he smirked a little as he wandered behind the counter.

--

Michel popped up from behind the counter and she jumped, shrieking a little from the scare. He grinned at her and she narrowed her eyes, folding her arms in front of her chest in annoyance.

"Is my mom here?" Rory asked, trying to calm her heart rate. He looked around and shrugged.

"Don't know, sorry. I've been dealing with the Banger sisters over there," he gestured to two boisterous women that were standing in the lobby, looking like they were ready to pounce on anyone that walked by. "If you find her tell her I am expecting a raise for helping them out, okay?" he drawled. Rory giggled a little and walked away as he returned to the pair.

She could hear them talking as she wandered into the dining room, and Michel sounded like he was about to run for the hills. A smile spread across her face when she saw her mother talking with an employee. For once, Lorelai was actually smiling, and it wasn't forced like it had been for the past few days.

When the older woman turned her smile brightened, and Rory met her in the middle of the room with a smile that matched it. "What are you doing here? I thought this was your day to go on that unicorn-buying binge you've wanted to have for so long."

"Unfortunately all of the collectors' shops are closed today. Taylor apparently threw a fit over the promotion of mythical creatures. The children are trying to stab each other with the little porcelain horns, it seems," Rory replied. Lorelai laughed and she smiled again. "So how are things?"

"The kitchen was on fire about half an hour ago," Lorelai replied, nodding toward the door to said room. "Sookie's got it under control, though, and there were no casualties this time."

They both winced a little at the reference to the Independence Inn, and Rory shook it off before the mood changed at all. She wasn't in the mood to mope today, and after her conversation with Jess at the diner she was too shaken up to focus on the bad things.

"Good thing," Rory nodded. "We wouldn't want the real firemen to be confused with the fake ones."

"Do not remind me about that woman's bachelorette party," Lorelai pressed a palm to her forehead, shaking her head back and forth. Her hair brushed her cheeks gently with the gesture and she laughed, flicking the dark locks back from her face. "Michel is already asking for a raise because he had to watch them puke in the lobby."

"But he didn't have to clean it up," Rory frowned in confusion.

"He still had to watch," Lorelai tsked. "And we all know how horrible that experience is." Rory nodded gravely.

Someone ran into the dining room asking for Lorelai and she sighed, telling Rory to hang out in the lobby until she got a break from business so they could talk for a bit. The younger girl nodded her consent and Lorelai hugged her briefly before rushing off to deal with whatever crisis had come up.

Rory sat down at a table, pulling her phone out of her bag with a frown. She didn't remember turning it off last night, yet the screen was black. Her brow furrowed and she turned the device on, noticing that she had three new voicemails.

Two were from her father, the third from her across-the-seas boyfriend. She frowned again. She should've checked to make sure the thing was turned on before she left the house that morning, but in her haste to get out of the house she'd forgotten all about it.

Her frown only deepened when Logan's message was simply a heavy sigh before the line went dead. There was a reason she never turned off her phone. He hated voicemail.


	4. Chapter 3: Broken Banister Unicorns

Disclaimer: And yeah, still no.

A/N: I suck. To make up for said suckage, I tried to make this chapter a little longer than the others. Lately the show has been frustrating me, so I figure it's about time I get back into my own little version of the seventh season. The outline for this is detailed and saved in my documents, so assuming everyone is still interested in this then I will continue with it until the final scene, which I've actually already written. The only way I'll know if you want me to do that is review, so please click that pretty little purple button when you finish with this chapter.

--

"Well, if his mother thinks he has the talent to rock the world with his mixes, then he must be capable," she smiled and settled back on the couch, eyes trailing over the new paint and new additions for the fiftieth time since she moved out of her grandparents' house.

"Thank God I managed to pawn this thing off on somebody else today; another afternoon with a European I can't understand and you may very well have been planning my funeral right now," Logan chuckled warmly and Rory took a deep breath, the sound making her miss him more than she wanted to admit.

"Good thing, then. The way things have been going this past week, half the population of Stars Hollow is probably going to be underground by the time you come visit."

"That bad?"

"Oh, yes," Rory nodded seriously, curling her feet underneath her. "Taylor has banned the unicorn retailers, which in turn has outraged all of the children, some of the women in town, and Kirk. All of them are planning some sort of rally to bring back their livelihood, last I heard. The first protest is scheduled for this afternoon."

"Oh, I'm sorry I can't be there," he laughed and then paused. "He's still allowing Harry Potter to be purchased at the book store, isn't he?"

She grinned and shrugged her shoulders, the expression fading slightly when she remembered he couldn't see her. "It's only a matter of time before that, too, is gone," she answered. Someone shouted Logan's name across the Atlantic and she swallowed thickly, forcing a smile for the benefit of the coffee table when he apologized and said he had to go.

Ending the call, she let her phone rest on her lap and quirked her mouth in contemplation. In the middle of her inner-argument about whether or not it would be beneficial to go into town and look around at Andrew's for a new set of page-bound comforts, the house phone rang. She rolled her eyes and picked it up from its position on the coffee table, answering blandly. She lacked Lorelai's flair for dramatic phone answering, but she was alright with that.

"Sweetie, don't hang up."

Her hand clenched around the phone and she froze, her mouth open and posed to say the first thing that fell from the sky. Christopher sighed heavily and Rory crinkled her brow.

"I know you don't want to talk to me and I know your mom doesn't, either, but hear me out," he begged. She remained silent despite her best efforts to hang up, frozen on the couch staring angrily at the wall. "What happened between me and your mom wasn't planned, it just sort of happened, Rory. You know I wouldn't do anything to mess up her relationship with Luke."

"Lie," she said simply. He didn't respond and she shook her head in disappointment. "I heard you, and now I have to go. Don't call again," she hung up and sat forward, extending her legs so that her feet rested on the floor. Rocking forward to rest her elbows on her knees, she dropped her head into her hands and inhaled slowly to calm down.

Thankfully, the phone didn't ring again before she left the house.

--

"Michel, I am going to stab you with the biggest piece of this that I can lift if you don't leave me alone right this second!" Lorelai shouted. The Frenchman stared at her indifferently and she folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow slowly.

"Oh, fine, take away all of my fun," he pouted as he turned on his heel and stomped off, nearly running into Rory as she looked around the room to see what all the commotion was about. "Be careful, she is channeling all of those horror stories that she tells about her mother today," he warned.

Rory laughed shortly and walked over to her mother, noticing that something looked off about the staircase. She opened her mouth to comment and then stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the pile of wood that was lying on the floor next to the flight of steps and the massive hole that was now in the banister.

"So, you remember that rule that I came up with last year after those two members of the Hell's Angels decided to stay here and invite all of their biker friends, too?" Lorelai asked. Rory raised her eyes to her mother's and frowned.

"Are you talking about Ethel and her husband?"

"No, the other ones."

"The young guy and his girlfriend?"

"Yes, them," Lorelai nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Continue," Rory waved her hand absently in the air and stepped over the splinters that were scattered over the polished hard-wood floor, smirking softly as Lorelai took a deep breath to prepare to tell her story.

"Next time I say something like 'No one that even resembles a biker is ever staying here again,' make sure you enforce that rule!" She pointed at the broken banister frantically, eyes wide. "Mr. Johnson – and no, his name has not been changed for anonymity – got into a huge fight with his father, who was only supposed to be here for breakfast this morning, and it got so heated that when they started walking down the stairs to eat said meal, the younger one punched the older one in the face and then tackled him, sending them both sprawling to the floor with my banister underneath them!"

Rory blinked slowly, trying to process the rapid-fire explanation. After a moment she snorted, burst out laughing, and completely ignored Lorelai's glare as she fell against what was left of the railing to support her shaking body.

"I'm sorry," she gasped and wiped the tears from her eyes, shaking her head and trying to contain her laughter. "You're just the only Inn-owner in the country who would have a problem like this," she giggled again and Lorelai rolled her eyes, but smiled at the statement.

"Well, my mother always said I was a rebel," she deadpanned. Rory smiled again and straightened up, sighing happily.

"So for the sake of saving Michel from your evil clutches and death by impalement on a broken banister," she grinned and nodded toward the door, "Let's go watch the protest and see just how crazy it's gotten."

"I can't, babe," Lorelai sighed and started walking in the direction of the dining room. Rory frowned and followed her, genuinely confused by the rejection.

"Why? Sookie can meet the repairman when he comes, can't she? I'm sure she's dealt with him before."

"No, actually, she hasn't. This guy is new," Lorelai stopped an employee and gave him a direction that Rory didn't catch, but she grabbed her mother's shoulder before she could escape the conversation all together.

"Why would you call a new repairman when Kirk is standing in the town square with a horn crazy-glued to his head? That is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you shouldn't miss because you have to sit around and wait for a new guy to show up and fix the broken banister," she said seriously. Lorelai stared at her for a moment and Rory frowned when the brightness in Lorelai's eyes faded the longer she stood there. "Mom?"

"Luke usually deals with stuff like this," she admitted. Rory sucked in a breath and then nodded slowly.

"Oh."

"Go on, go watch the protest," Lorelai smiled somewhat falsely and gestured toward the door. "Take lots of pictures so that we have something new to put on the fridge, huh?"

Rory nodded and turned to leave, a new mission already in mind as she headed in the direction of the town square.

--

The bell above the door dinged to announce her arrival and she looked around in search of her mission, lighting up when she saw him cross the diner in annoyance. Rory watched as Taylor followed behind the man in the baseball cap, and Luke threw down a plate in the kitchen and then exited with an exasperated sigh.

"If they want to run around in crazy costumes protesting the scariest chain of retailers in this town being shut down because you're a tyrant, then so be it, Taylor! I'm not supporting them and I'm not refusing them service, either."

"All you care about is the money, don't you? These people are ruining the face of Stars Hollow! We've never had such chaos, and yet you're willing to give them nourishment so that they can wreak havoc on the streets for as long as their energy lasts?"

Luke smirked and leaned against the counter, nodding even as he propped his chin on his palm. "That's exactly what I'm doing, Taylor. Supporting a bunch of maniacs so that they can finally wear you down enough to stop doing insane things like banning the sale of toy unicorns!"

"Those unicorns have sharp horns on their heads that are dangerous for children to play with," Taylor said gravely, enraged all over again. "Not to mention the fact that selling mythical creatures just encourages young people to follow that Wicca trend that's sweeping the nation right now!"

"Wicca, Taylor?"

"You should really pay attention to the news, Luke. It's all over the place and more and more kids are selling their souls to the devil by the day!" he threw his hands up in the air, clearly excited and terrified by the idea, and Rory placed her hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing at the old man's antics.

"Better than invading my diner to ask me to stop selling to faithful customers," Luke retaliated. After a brief staring contest between the two of them, he shook his head and pointed past Taylor's shoulder at the door. "Out."

"But Luke—"

"_Out_!"

Taylor huffed loudly and grumbled under his breath as he left the diner, barely missing Rory as she dodged his path and moved away from the door. The door slammed behind him and she nodded, a little impressed at his follow-through on his anger as she walked up to the counter and had a seat on one of the bar stools.

"Have you ever noticed that his hair poofs in the back when he's angry like that?" she teased. "Kind of like a cat."

Luke snorted out a quiet laugh at the comment. "The implication of that would explain a lot," he smirked. Giggling softly, she smiled at him and he returned the gesture. "So I assume you're here for coffee?"

"I'd love some," she nodded and gnawed on her bottom lip when he turned around to retrieve her a to-go cup. "Um, Luke?"

"I can't make it any stronger," he said automatically. She smiled and shook her head.

"No, I just wanted to ask you for a favor," she explained. He set her cup down in front of her and placed the lid over it, pressing down as he nodded for her to continue. Thanking him and dropping a few bills on the counter, she hugged the warm beverage to her chest and took a deep breath. "The banister broke at the Inn this morning," she began. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged shortly. "I wasn't there. But I was hoping you could maybe go fix it so that Mom doesn't have to wait for hours for a repairman who probably can't do anything other than spout off a price."

He stared at her for a moment and then took his baseball cap off his head, gritting his jaw momentarily. The resemblance he had to Jess in that moment was striking, to say the least, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she waited for his response.

"Your mom ask you to ask me?"

"No," she shook her head. "And I understand if you don't want to—"

"I'll do it," he nodded. Rory widened her eyes and he smirked, taking her money and depositing it in the cash register. "Gets me out of the fray for a while," he nodded toward the windows and she turned around, noticing that the crowd had gotten larger since she arrived at the diner.

"Great," she turned back to him and smiled. "Thanks Luke," she lingered for just a moment longer before leaving, the sounds of the protest overwhelming once she was in the open air.

Spotting a small opening in the crowd surrounding the gazebo, where Kirk was currently shouting nonsensical facts about unicorns into his megaphone – _Who gave Kirk a megaphone?_ – she slipped in between two people she recognized from her days at Stars Hollow High and offered them both small smiles before taking a sip of her coffee.

The shouts of the crowd, she realized, were in response to Kirk's request for them to be louder, and she stared in fascination as he raised his fist in the air repeatedly, the horn that was plastered to his forehead quivering with each of his proclamations. Fixing her eyes on the ridiculous adornment, she blinked a few times and smiled at the insanity that was her home town.

"He says that babies who are born with horns aren't ostracized, so unicorns shouldn't be either," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. A chill shot down her spine that completely contradicted the smooth, warm June air, and she turned her head slightly to see him.

"Well, then I agree," she murmured playfully. Jess smirked and stepped closer to her, the heat of his body mixing with her own and making the coffee in her hand seem overwhelmingly hot.

"Of course you do," he shook his head mockingly and she narrowed her eyes indignantly, depositing her half-empty coffee cup in the trash can sitting a few feet away before turning to face him completely.

"I thought you were all for controversy," she accused. "Yet you're mocking Kirk and his genuine effort to regain the stores that probably supply half of Stars Hollow's economy?"

"They're stores that sell nothing but unicorns, Ror," he laughed a little. "How is that even controversial?"

"According to Taylor, they inspire youngsters like us to sell our souls to the devil and practice Wicca in our parents' basement," she said seriously, attempting to keep a straight face. Jess locked eyes with her and she froze momentarily, blinking and taking a step back from him.

The argument felt too comfortable and much too familiar for her liking, especially considering how he left. How he came back. And left. And came back and asked her to do something reckless and stupid; and left again. After Philadelphia they shouldn't have even been speaking. After Philadelphia she should've…

"Rory, grab a horn!" Kirk appeared next to her and her gaze jerked to his face, then the basket of pointed paper he had in his hand. "I'd tell you to get horny like I told Lulu to do, but she giggled and then told me that I shouldn't say things like that in public," he shrugged, clearly unaware of the implication of his original words, and Rory blinked.

"You know, Kirk, I'd love to join the cause but I'm just not the unicorn type," she shook her head sadly. She could feel Jess watching her, his eyes glued on her face, and she fought to remain indifferent to his stare as Kirk nodded.

"I understand. Thanks for your support, though," he nodded once more and then rushed off to approach another group of onlookers. She laughed and turned back to Jess, regretting the action as soon as their eyes locked.

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head and shrugged, glancing at a point past her shoulder as he spoke. "I just didn't expect anyone in this town to ask you for help anymore."

"And why is that?"

He looked back at her and his eyes were sad, nostalgic almost, and Rory tensed in preparation for flight. His hand twitched at his side and she tried to block out her peripheral vision so that she was only looking at his face. "Because you're not the same," he said simply. With that, he backed up and left her standing in the obnoxious crowd, facing away from the protest that was supposed to be drawing her attention completely.

The statement left her more shaken up than it should have had any right to.

--

Lorelai tapped her fingers against the desk impatiently, leaning her other elbow on the surface as she held the phone to her ear. Michel remained oblivious to her impatience, sorting through a pile of Post-Its that he had in front of him, and she groaned in irritation when she was disconnected yet again.

"How difficult is it to send a repairman out here? We're not really that far from the main part of town, are we? The Donner Party would make it just fine, even in the winter!"

"Calm down; they will send someone soon, I am sure," Michel drawled. Lorelai looked at him hopefully, standing up straight as she dropped the phone back on its base.

"You think so?"

He looked up at her blankly. "No," and then went back to sorting out his reminders. She groaned and rolled her eyes, walking around him into the foyer just as the front door of the establishment opened. Looking up, she stopped abruptly at the familiar face that was in front of her.

"Luke," she said dumbly, looking around for the hidden cameras. He nodded and lifted his toolbox for her inspection, looking past her to see the damage on the banister.

"Yeah," he agreed, walking past her and setting the box on the second step. She watched him curiously. "Heard you had a problem with your banister, and since every repair guy in town is at that stupid protest, I figured you could use someone down here to let you know what's going on before someone falls through the giant hole in the banister because they're too stupid to realize that it's busted."

"Oh," she nodded redundantly and walked the few feet of space between them, watching curiously. After a moment, she folded her arms across her chest and furrowed her brow. "So how bad is it?"

"It's definitely going to have to be replaced," he told her, but didn't turn to look at her. She nodded and looked down at the ground, jerking her foot around nervously before looking at the back of his head again. "I can probably get it done in a couple of days," he offered, finally turning to face her.

"You don't have to do that," she shook her head.

"Nah, it's no problem," he gestured behind him. "I just need to pick up some wood tomorrow and I can get it done by Saturday," he swore. Lorelai opened her mouth to protest again and he cut her off swiftly. "Unless you'd rather have some idiot that doesn't know how to work a power-saw do it instead."

She stared at him and then sighed, unfolding her arms reluctantly. "Take as long as you need," she sighed again and hurried off in the direction of the kitchen, waiting until the door was shut behind her before she allowed herself to freak out.

Sookie glanced up from the pot she was stirring and frowned. "What's wrong, hun?"

Lorelai leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. "Luke is out there."

"I'm sorry; I thought you said _Luke_ is out there."

"I did."

"But you called George," Sookie said dumbly.

"Yeah, but George didn't show up and Luke did! I don't even know how he…oh God," Lorelai moaned painfully. Her best friend put down her spoon and adjusted the heat on the stove, walking closer to her. "Oh God, oh God, oh _God_!"

"What is it, Lorelai?"

"Rory."

Sookie blinked, then widened her eyes. "_Oh_," she nodded slowly. Lorelai turned and stormed out of the kitchen, glad to see that her ex was no longer appraising the staircase. "Don't be too hard on her!" Sookie shouted. The brunette rolled her eyes and made a brief stop at the front desk to grab her purse, already pulling her keys out as she made her way to the Jeep.

--

Stepping out of her bedroom, she ran a towel through her hair to dry it and took a deep, satisfying breath. She pulled the towel away after a moment and ran her fingers through her wet hair, straightening it a little as she made her way into the living room. As Rory grabbed the remote from the top of the television, the front door burst open and she turned to see her mother standing there looking extremely pissed off. She blanched.

"How could you do something like that without asking me first?"

"You weren't going to ask him! I thought someone should before you went insane because Bob never showed up," she argued. Lorelai narrowed her eyes and threw her purse on the couch.

"First of all, his name is George, and second of all you had no right to do anything like that, Rory! Don't you understand? It _hurts_ to be around Luke!"

"And it hurts me to be around Jess, but you don't see me screaming and ranting about it, do you?" Her eyes widened as soon as his name fell from her mouth, but she couldn't seem to make the sentence stop even after she realized her mistake. Lorelai stared at her in confusion.

"What does Jess have to do with—" she froze. Rory panicked and hit the remote against her thigh, a nervous habit that she hated but couldn't help.

"Luke needs someone right now," she said hastily. "I couldn't think of anyone else that he would be willing to accept support from, and Jess gave me his number when I went to Philadelphia to see him, and—"

"He gave you his number?"

A deep breath, "Yes."

"Why did he give you his number?"

Dropping the controller on the floor, Rory folded her arms across her chest and locked eyes with her mother. _Now or never_. "Because I showed up alone and he didn't know I was still with Logan until after we kissed."

Lorelai's jaw dropped, but other than that she had no reaction to the news of her daughter kissing her most-hated ex-boyfriend. Both women stood in silence for a brief moment before Lorelai turned and walked upstairs without another word. Rory deflated and sank down onto the coffee table, closing her eyes painfully tight when her cell phone rang.


End file.
